Upgraded paperless recorder poised for launch

To improve the safety of electric devices such as the rechargeable batteries used in everything from automobiles to mobile devices, evaluation tests must be run to acquire and analyse detailed performance data. For this purpose, sampling at intervals as short as 1 millisecond is desirable. However, this normally requires an expensive, high-performance measuring instrument.

When the new high-speed analogue input module available with release 4 is mounted, a SMARTDAC+ system can sample data at intervals as brief as 1 millisecond, which is 1/100th that of any preceding Yokogawa product.

This is suitable for such high performance applications as the measurement of the transient current in rechargeable batteries and vibration in power plant turbines.

A dual interval function has also been added that enables the SMARTDAC+ to efficiently and simultaneously collect data on slowly changing signals (e.g., temperature) and quickly changing signals (e.g., pressure and vibration).

In applications that need both control and recording, such as controlling the temperature of an industrial furnace or the dosage process at a water treatment plant, there is a need for systems that do not require engineering and can be quickly and easily introduced.

To control temperature, flow rate, and pressure, it used to be necessary to use a recorder and a controller for each control loop, or to engineer a solution that combined a recorder with a programmable controller or touch panel display. When the new PID control module available with this release is mounted, the SMARTDAC+ can control and monitor up to 20 loops.

PID control is a kind of feedback control. It controls process variables such as temperature, pressure, and flow rate for each loop.

A loop is a series of control operations involving the receipt of a reading from a sensor or some other detecting element, the calculation of the difference between the measured and the targeted value, and the issuance of an instruction to a valve or some other control element to correct the measured value.

With the GX and GP series recorders, an intuitive touch panel user interface and screens for the monitoring and operation of temperature and flow rate are available.

In addition, web functionality that is a standard feature on all GX and GP recorders allows for remote monitoring and control via a web browser.

Temperature sensors operate on the measurement principle that the electrical resistance of a metal varies in proportion to changes in temperature.

While three-wire RTDs are widely used in many fields, research institutes and manufacturers of products such as air-conditioning equipment require the higher level of precision possible with 4-wire RTDs.

To satisfy this need, Yokogawa has released a 4-wire RTD/resistance module for the SMARTDAC+.

The GX series targets Production of iron and steel, petrochemicals, chemicals, pulp and paper, foods, pharmaceuticals, and electrical equipment/electronics; water supply and wastewater treatment facilities

The GP series is suitable for Development of home appliances, automobiles, semiconductors, and energy-related technologies; universities; research institutes, and the GM series covers both of the above target markets